BS Mardhekar
Encyclopedia
Bal Sitaram Mardhekar was a Marathi
writer who brought about a radical shift of sensibility in Marathi poetry
. He was born in a town called Faizpur in the Khandesh region of Maharashtra
.
He was educated in Pune
and London
, and worked at All India Radio
until his death. His earlier collection of poems, Shishiragam (शिशिरागम), was a product of Ravi Kiran Mandal poetry: sentimental and lyrical. But his later avant-garde poetry brought about a storm in Marathi literary world. His poem with the title "पिपात मेले ओल्या उंदिर" (Mice Died in the Wet Barrel) appeared in Abhiruchi (अभिरुची) magazine in 1946.
Similar to what Baudelaire
did in French poetry, Mardhekar brought decadent urban ethos in Marathi poetry. Marathi bhakti (भक्ति) poetry and the poetry of T. S. Eliot
and W. H. Auden
had an influence on him.
In 1948, he was charged and tried for obscenity for some of his poems in ' Kahi Kavita'. He was declared innocent of these charges in 1952.
Mardhekar was also an influential crictic and an experimental novelist. He attempted to bring in the consciousness technique in Marathi novels.
He received in 1956 Sahitya Akademi Award for his work Saundarya ani Sahitya (A study of aesthetics) (सौंदर्य आणि साहित्य).
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
writer who brought about a radical shift of sensibility in Marathi poetry
Marathi poetry
-Earliest Prominent Marathi Poetry:The two poets, Namadev and Dnyaneshwar , wrote the earliest significant poetry in Marathi. They were respectively born in 1270 and 1275 CE in Maharashtra, India, and both wrote religious poetry. A little over 400 verses in the so-called “abhang” form are...
. He was born in a town called Faizpur in the Khandesh region of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
.
He was educated in Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and worked at All India Radio
All India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
until his death. His earlier collection of poems, Shishiragam (शिशिरागम), was a product of Ravi Kiran Mandal poetry: sentimental and lyrical. But his later avant-garde poetry brought about a storm in Marathi literary world. His poem with the title "पिपात मेले ओल्या उंदिर" (Mice Died in the Wet Barrel) appeared in Abhiruchi (अभिरुची) magazine in 1946.
Similar to what Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
did in French poetry, Mardhekar brought decadent urban ethos in Marathi poetry. Marathi bhakti (भक्ति) poetry and the poetry of T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
and W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
had an influence on him.
In 1948, he was charged and tried for obscenity for some of his poems in ' Kahi Kavita'. He was declared innocent of these charges in 1952.
Mardhekar was also an influential crictic and an experimental novelist. He attempted to bring in the consciousness technique in Marathi novels.
He received in 1956 Sahitya Akademi Award for his work Saundarya ani Sahitya (A study of aesthetics) (सौंदर्य आणि साहित्य).
Novels
- Raatricha Divas (1942)
- Tambdi Maati (1943)
- Paani (1948)
- Mardhekaranchya Kadambarya (1962)
Aesthetics and Criticism
- Arts and Man (1937)
- Vangmaiyeen Mahaatmata (1941)
- Two Lectures on an Aesthetic of Literature (1944)
- Saundarya ani Sahitya ( 1955)
Plays
- Karna (1944)
- Natashreshta (1944)
- Sangam (1945)
- Aukshan (1946)
- Badakanche Gupit (1947)
Further reading
- Vijaya RajadhyakshaVijaya RajadhyakshaVijaya Rajadhyaksha is a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India.She studied at Rajaram College in Kolhapur, and obtained her doctorate from Mumbai University....
(विजया राजाध्यक्ष): मर्ढेकरांची कविता. (The book received Sahitya Akademi Award in 1993.) - Manohar, Yashwant. Baal Sitaram Mardhekar. New Delhi Sahitya Akademi. 1997
- M. V. DhondM. V. DhondMadhukar Vasudev Dhond was a literary and art critic from Maharashtra, India....
: "Tarihi Yeto Vas Phulanna", Publisher- Rajhans Prakashan, Pune 1999 - Deshpande, D.V. Mardhekaranchi Kavita. 1980
- 'Aksharanchya Shrama Kela' (2000) by Vilas SarangVilas SarangVilas Sarang is one of the most significant modernist Indian writer, critic and translator to emerge in the post-independence period....
- कारुण्योपनिषद (Karunyopanishad) by Vinay Hardikar
- Manohar, Yashwant. Keshavsut ani Mardhekar: Ek Taulnik Abhyas. 1982 ( a doctoral thesis)
Translation of Mardhekar's Poetry
- Dilip ChitreDilip ChitreDilip Purushottam Chitre was one of the foremost Indian writers and critics to emerge in the post Independence India. Apart from being a very important bilingual writer, writing in Marathi and English, he was also a painter and filmmaker.-Biography:He was born in Baroda on 17 September 1938...
. An Anthology of Marathi Poetry (1945-1965) - Vilas SarangVilas SarangVilas Sarang is one of the most significant modernist Indian writer, critic and translator to emerge in the post-independence period....
. Poems of Mardhekar ( For Private Circulation)